Interpretive Summary: There is much concern that natural hormones that are discharged at sites where intensive animal farming is carried out are adversely affecting the environment. Methods are needed to neutralize these compounds. A newly developed procedure utilizing oxidation with Ferrate(VI) showed excellent promise. Some inexpensively-produced Ferrate(VI) was tested on samples of dairy lagoon slurry material and found to be especially effective at destruction of all normal levels of female hormones that were produced by the cows. There was significant decreases (greater than 50%) of the most abundant hormone, estradiol. The analytical method employed mass spectrometry and isotope dilution quantitation methods that removed all doubt about the validity of the findings.

Technical Abstract:
Ferrate(VI) was used to break down and/or remove steroidal estrogens (SE) from dairy waste lagoon effluent (DWLE). Dairy lagoon sites were sampled for estrogenic content (EC) and assayed using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Effects of varying amounts of Ferrate(VI) and ferric chloride treatments on the EC of these DWLE samples were determined. 17'-estradiol, 19.7 µg/L, was the most prevalent and estriol, 2.10 µg/L the least. When DWLE was treated with a high concentration (0.84%) of Ferrate(VI), there was a significant decrease (>50%) in 17'-estradiol content. Ferrate(VI) treatment of DWLE may be an environmentally sound approach to reduce estrogenic compounds.